Chapter 184: The Apocalypse Prophecy

Chapter 184: The Apocalypse Prophecy

With the help of the mysterious space above the gray fog, Klein quickly recovered to a good mental state and continued reading the second chapter of Spirit World Observations.

The owner of the notebook, a Traveler from the Abraham family, claimed that when he wandered into the depths of the spirit world, he encountered an old man wearing a lemon-yellow robe.

The old man’s body was semi-transparent, extremely similar to the spirit world creatures around him, yet his attitude was unexpectedly kind.

The Traveler from the Abraham family conversed with the old man for a while and was surprised to learn that the other party was actually the manifestation of Venithan, the Yellow Light—one of the Seven Lights that covered the highest part of the spirit world.

Venithan told that Traveler from the Abraham family that his traits were reason and adaptability, that he was a symbol in the domain of astrology, and that his corresponding gemstone was emerald.

With considerable concern, he mentioned a prophecy that came from his own being:

“Gazes will fall from the stars. The earth will split apart. Everything in the world will cease to exist.”

He believed this to be the final apocalypse that would arrive within two hundred years, from which no spirit or living thing would be spared.

The Traveler from the Abraham family had little reaction to this and did not ask further. Instead, he asked how he might remove the curse upon his family’s bloodline.

The Yellow Light, Venithan, told him that in a certain sense, it was indeed a curse, but its essence was entirely different from curses in mysticism. The solution lay in the future, in the hands of an Apprentice who would receive the help of a hidden existence.

He also warned the Traveler from the Abraham family that the day the curse was lifted would be the beginning of the Abrahams’ true calamity.

As for what that calamity would be, he said that he did not know either, believing it involved great existences on the level of deities.

In the second chapter of Spirit World Observations, the notebook’s owner also mentioned another thing the Yellow Light, Venithan, had said: the rulers of the Brotherhood of the Seven Lights—the Seven Lights themselves—would often enter the real world and, through various methods, take human form to teach corresponding knowledge. Since the Fifth Epoch, many master-level figures across different fields had been their incarnations. For example, Di Forseman, the greatest astrologer of the last thousand years and the person who conclusively proved that the present world was a planet, was a human incarnation of the Yellow Light, Venithan.

Based on this, the notebook’s owner proposed a guess: Roselle Gustav, who could be considered a master in many fields, might also have been the incarnation of one of the Seven Lights.

No, he wasn’t… If you really insist on thinking that way, he was probably a green light… Klein raised a hand and rubbed his forehead.

Based on this point, he judged that the notebook’s owner could not have been a very ancient Beyonder. And judging from the fact that the man had not referred to Roselle as “Emperor,” this spirit world journey should have taken place during the period when Roselle was Consul, or shortly after he declared himself emperor but before the title had been widely recognized.

Of course, it could not be ruled out that the Beyonders of the Abraham family refused to acknowledge any emperor other than Tudor.

A Traveler capable of roaming the spirit world cannot have a low Sequence. But if he were a high-sequence powerhouse, Mr. Door would have been rescued long ago, and the so-called bloodline curse would no longer exist. So the notebook’s owner was a Sequence 5 Beyonder, or a Sequence 6 with the help of a mystical item… Although the Abraham family has declined, they are still not weak… Why is the prophecy of the Yellow Light Venithan so similar to certain claims made by the Demoness Sect and the Aurora Order? The final apocalypse will inevitably arrive? Based on the time frame I just calculated, is the apocalypse only twenty to thirty years away? Klein thought with a frown.

Roselle became Consul in 1173, and it was now November 1349. One hundred and seventy-six years had passed. Meanwhile, the Yellow Light, Venithan, had prophesied at the time that the apocalypse would arrive within two hundred years. Considering that Klein’s calculation was only an estimate of a period, the remaining time before the apocalypse could be anywhere from twenty-four to fifty years. Roselle had declared himself emperor in 1192 and was assassinated in 1198.

Although the first two chapters of Spirit World Observations did not contain much practical knowledge, they had thoroughly broadened Klein’s horizons. They allowed him to learn quite a bit about the spirit world, and to learn of the existence of the Seven Lights and the Brotherhood of the Seven Lights.

“So those pure lights located at an extremely high place, the ones that contain countless pieces of knowledge and that I could see before during advancement, when I transformed into spirit-body state, and when I performed corresponding rituals, are the spirit world’s Seven Lights. And they’re alive, with thoughts of their own… How fascinating…

“These first two chapters of Spirit World Observations aren’t completely useless in practical terms either. At the very least, I now know that the Yellow Light’s true name is Venithan, that its corresponding gemstone is emerald, and many other details. Based on that, I can design certain secret contract rituals that point to it… Though it isn’t of much use for now…”

After pondering for a while, Klein closed the transcribed notebook and returned to the real world.

Compared to channeling the Yellow Light, Venithan, he had something far more important to do.

Klein took out letter paper, picked up his fountain pen, and wrote a letter to the inventor Leppard. He asked what stage the bicycle patent application had reached, why it had not succeeded yet, and whether Leppard needed him to hire a lawyer to help.

With the Magician’s principles now established, the complete digestion of his potion would take no more than two months. He had to accumulate the corresponding funds for his Sequence 6 Faceless Beyonder materials as soon as possible.

Of those, the Sun might provide one item free of charge because of the All-Black Eye, but Klein still had to find a way to obtain the other.

As far as he knew, the corresponding Beyonder materials for Sequence 6 basically all cost more than 1,500 pounds, and they were often unavailable even when one had the money.

Aside from the two main ingredients, the supplementary ingredients also included two extremely rare spiritually rich substances: a Thousand-faced Hunter’s blood and a Deep-sea Naga’s hair. Their prices likewise would not be beautiful.

“Making money is so hard, while spending it is so easy… It would be nice if the Werewolf Beyonder characteristic and the Interrogator Beyonder characteristic could be sold… Not a single soli or penny can be wasted…” Klein sealed the letter and stuck on a postage stamp.

He did not need to count to know how much money he currently had.

Six hundred and twenty-four pounds in banknotes, plus five one-pound gold coins, plus seven soli in notes and some copper pennies.

“Right. There’s also the 600 pounds Miss Magician and Miss Xio will pay for the Sheriff Beyonder characteristic. I hope they can gather the money soon…” Klein silently offered his blessings to the two ladies.

…

“You said that in the Beyonder circle you recently joined, there are two Beyonder materials for the Sheriff potion, and that the price is very fair—only 600 pounds in total?” Xio widened her eyes and rattled off the question.

She had just returned from the East Borough, where she had been investigating who had recently been asking about Capim.

“Yes. It is a seller with an excellent reputation. The only problem is that the vetting process is very strict, and I can’t bring you into that circle in the short term.” Everything Fors said was completely true.

“That’s wonderful!” Xio did not doubt her friend and excitedly paced two steps.

Then her expression collapsed.

“But I don’t have enough money…”

The corner of Fors’s mouth twitched.

“How many pounds do you have right now?”

“Including the thirty-pound initial payment from this commission, 310 pounds in total. I’m still short by half!” Xio scratched her short blond hair. “Let me think, let me think where I can borrow 300 pounds… Banks won’t lend to a bounty hunter like me, and those usurers charge too much interest… Maybe I can ask Miss Audrey?”

She had heard from her friend about the recent purchase of the Trickmaster potion formula, which had cost a full 450 pounds. Because of that, she had never even considered borrowing from Fors.

“Why are we all so poor?” Fors could not help sighing. “Miss Audrey has rarely come out recently. She seems busy with something else, so asking her for money might not be timely. Uh… We can first ask Viscount Glaint. If it’s too late, I’ll cover it for you. I still have 430 pounds. That’s enough.”

Xio blinked, then abruptly lowered her head. Her voice became muffled.

“Fors, you’re so good to me.

“Once I advance to Sheriff, I’ll be able to earn more money!”

Fors shook her head with a smile.

“So, how about you clean the rooms today?”

…

The City of Silver.

Derrick left the training grounds and returned home.

Earlier, he had already asked when the exploration team members would be released from quarantine. The answer he received was: when today’s lightning calmed.

Sitting at the old wooden table, Derrick once again went over the predetermined plan and remembered something Mr. Hanged Man had warned him about.

“If there are no suitable spectators to testify for you, you may as well make use of the Beyonder monitoring you.”

But how am I supposed to know when I’m being monitored… Mr. Hanged Man was very certain, but not detailed enough… Derrick developed many doubts, yet could find no way to confirm them.

Although he was very embarrassed to pray to Mr. Fool again to ask this question, when he considered that the survival of the City of Silver was at stake, he gathered his courage.

In an extremely low voice, he recited the Fool’s honorific name and briefly described the difficulty he had encountered.

After a while, he saw Mr. Fool seated in the center of the boundless gray fog and heard a terse response:

“Touch the item inside the iron box. Do not exceed three heartbeats. Prepare in advance. Pay attention to the source of the black threads.”

That simple? Derrick thanked Mr. Fool in delight.

He adjusted his posture and quietly slipped his hand into the inner hidden pocket of his clothes.

As the wall of spirituality was dispelled, Derrick’s fingers pushed open the iron box and carefully probed inside.

Suddenly, he touched a cold object, and black, illusory threads instantly appeared before his eyes.

At the same time, his mind buzzed, and illusory roars seemed to pour madly into his ears.

Derrick’s body convulsed violently. Tears and mucus streamed out from the pain.

He nearly forgot what he was supposed to do, but fortunately, the place within his line of sight was precisely where the illusory black threads converged.

In that shadowed corner, there seemed to be a figure!

Derrick immediately withdrew his hand, as though he had touched a red-hot iron.

Taking advantage of the momentum, he collapsed onto the bed, twitching as though struck by lightning. His mouth could not close at all, and saliva kept dripping from it.

Only after several dozen seconds did Derrick finally recover. He closed the iron box again and sealed it with a wall of spirituality.

He rose, drank a mouthful of cold water, and now knew that someone was monitoring him.

After an unknown amount of time, Derrick suddenly heard a knocking sound.

Knock, knock, knock.

“Who is it?” he asked, sounding slightly dazed.

A voice carrying laughter came from outside.

“It’s me, Dark. The exploration team’s quarantine has ended.

“Didn’t you want very much to know what we experienced this time?”